Monday, November 26, 2012

Motivation Monday. Getting out the Facts

I do not participate in "Meatless Mondays" there are days I may not consume some meat, but I can't remember the last time that was.  I like meat. I like the flavor, I like the texure.  I like pork, chicken, turkey, and of course BEEF!  Fish is good too. 

I don't hold it against anyone who wants to abstain from eating meat. Some people don't appreciate the things about it that I do.  And that is okay.  I hate onions, large chunks of raw tomato gross me out and saurkraut is gag worthy.  I don't hold it against people if they don't like meat.

I do hold it against people when they are spreading false information and too readily buy into what the enviroquacks want people to believe.

Part of Los Angeles touting their Meatless Mondays was to help save the environment because..

 Between feeding them, providing them water and using up land to keep these animals housed, livestock use more natural resources than virtually anything. Not to mention transportation of animals and their products.  source

Excuse me?  Last I checked
  • water was a renewable resource
  • grazing lands account for 783 millions acres or 35% of the US,much of that (about 587 million acres) is unsuitable for growing crops. Raising livestock on it doubles the land area that can be used to raise food for a very hungry world.
  • Fruits and veggies also have to be trucked to the market

“Clearing the Air: Livestock’s Contribution to Climate Change,” a study by Frank Mitloehner,
Ph.D., associate professor at University of California, Davis, points out that raising livestock in developed countries, such as the United States, results in far fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than in developing countries. According to EPA, the U.S. transportation sector accounts for at least 26 percent of total annual anthropogenic (man-made) GHG emissions in this country, compared to less than 3 percent associated with total livestock production. source


If we aren't producing the beef there are many other countries willing to step up like Argentina, Brazil and Russia.  We do it more efficiently. Why not produce our own beef supply?


Will Meatless Mondays really help the planet?
  • Miniscule impact: According to Dr. Jude Capper at Washington State University, the environmental impact of every American following Meatless Mondays is miniscule – the impact of one meatless day per week is less than one half of one percent of the U.S. carbon footprint.
  • Sustainable beef: U.S. cattlemen raise 20 percent of the world’s beef with 7 percent of the world’s cattle, making the United States a leader in raising sustainable beef, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (2011).
  • Vested interest in the environment: America’s cattle ranchers have a vested interest in sustainable environmental practices – after all, the beef community thrives on multi-generational family farms. On average, each cattle farmer has 13 different practices in place to accomplish environmental goals such as nurturing wildlife, preventing erosion and conserving and protecting water.
Farmers and Ranchers have actually reduced the carbon footprint of producing cattle by 16 percent in the last 30 years. 

I could seriously go on about this all day. If you want to read more about debunking some of the myths about meat, health and the environment I encourage you to check out the links I provided.  A great one that is brief and concise can be found HERE.

Nobody cares more for the land these cattle are raised on than people who take care of the land.  97% of livestock operations are owned by family operations like mine.  We have a deep love and connectedness to the land.  We want it to be there for future generations to love like we do.

I really would love to answer any questions that are out there.

24 comments:

  1. I love that you shared facts on beef and the benefits to the land, etc. I too love meat and will not be giving it up.

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  2. I couldn't agree more! It drives me nuts when people take facts out of context to support their opinion and try to make others feel guilty.

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  3. MEAT!!!!! YUMMMMMMMMMM!!!!! I, like you, often eat meat, and when I go meatless for a meal, there is no political statement or ulterior motive to it. Misinformation pisses me off!!!
    Here's one to add to your collection of facts (and it comes from a Catholic): the no meat/fish on Fridays thing we Catholics do during lent has NO biblical meaning- it was meant to help the struggling fishermen in Rome way back when.
    Another thing I can't stand? Vegans who have no moral opposition to meat, but rather go vegan because they think it makes them better than everyone else. Especially when said "vegan" continues to use leather Coach wallets and purses, and buys more Uggs than a 17 year old, etc. Isn't a vegan supposed to abstain form ALL animal products? Can you tell I know someone like that?
    Don't get me started on anit-dairy/anti grain band-wagoners....
    TEAM MEAT!

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  4. I love my meat. I usually eat some form of meat everyday. I am just going meatless today for the #elf4health challenge. Does that mean I can eat double meat tomorrow? :-)

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  5. I'm a vegetarian (vegan when I can), but do appreciate what family farms bring to both our tables and our culture. Big beef farms a real problem though, in my mind.

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  6. Excellent post! I feel the same way about anti-hunting organizations. Misinformed and spreading false information. What better way to enjoy organic meat than from a wild animal you killed yourself.

    Go Meat! Yum!

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  7. BEEF! Now I want a burger, even if it's not even 10am yet :)

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  8. There's nothing I love better than a thick burger or good steak.

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  9. I love beef. And meat. Yum.

    Thanks for sharing some legit facts.

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  10. Great post. To each their own in regards to the diet they choose to follow, but I don't understand the need to ridicule the choices of others. I personally eat meat and now really want a steak ;).

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  11. Love this. I'm not a huge meat eater myself, but I definitely can eat a burger or steak from time to time. But, I just don't eat a lot of it because I'm not a crazy fan; I really dislike when people provide facts in an untrue manner. Drives me nuts!

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  12. You go girl!! Save the Ranchers!! The got the beef! The good, glorious amazing beef.
    I race for cheeseburgers ;-)

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  13. Pioneer Woman has a few good posts every now and then about the love they have for the cattle they raise. I think that ranchers and farmers are getting pushed out of their area with all of the urban growth, which I think is more of the problem with the environment then raising animals. I will gladly eat meat any day!

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  14. Thank you for taking the time to pull together those facts and for posting this. Very interesting read.
    It'd be nice if people would come together, one day per week, to omit something that was actually harmful, wouldn't it?
    How about : "No Cigarette Saturdays!" ;)

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  15. I agree with you wholeheartedly that family-operated cattle ranches are raising cattle with very little negative impact on the earth. Actually, across the western plains, cows have stepped into the ecological niche formerly filled by buffalo, and the prairies are healthier for their presence. Not to mention the myriad social and economical benefits of multi-generational family farms and ranches. However, confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) that are very common in the IL-IA-IN region (among other neighboring states) have decided negative impacts on the earth (and those cows). Those are the operations that are producing tons of CO2 and tons of waste.

    Unfortunately the distinctions between the two are very often ignored, and family ranchers get an undeserved bad rap. People either don't know or don't care about the differences, and thus self-righteously shun nearly all meat. I'm not defending the false claims by the LA meatless Monday group, merely pointing out that their claims do have a grain of truth in them.

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  16. Yay!!! From one rancher to another, THANK YOU!!! You hit the nail on the head...you rock!

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  17. I am a hog farmer's daughter and also say THANK YOU!!!!! People need to get the facts straight - so thanks for putting it out there!!!

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  18. i think this a great post christy!! very unbiased and presented the facts.

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  19. Great post! Great facts! This Iowa farm girl couldn't agree more. :)

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  20. This was a great post, Christy! I don't eat meat but for me it's a personal preference and I just feel better eating a mostly plant-based diet! I have nothing against people who eat meat (Dean loves it) and definitely don't preach anything to people. I share what I know and what works for me :) Meat is GOOD for you and if people like it they SHOULD eat it!! I just feel the same way about it as you do about onions ;)

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  21. I actually did my final project in school on Industrial Farming: Economy vs the Environment. I completely agree with the environmental points laid out. Animals do consume a lot of our resources. And, though water is a renewable resource it is still not something that should be taken for granted - we still don't want to waste it, much has to go into the processes of wastewater management and purifying our drinking water. HOWEVER, in regards to the farming most of the impacts come from industrial scale farms and I'm all for independent and supporting local farmers. So in that respect I 100% agree with you. One thing that is nice for independently owned farms to do is to leave natural areas on the property as natural as possible to increase the bio-diversity of their acreage. For example: leaving the riparian vegetation along streams as un touched as possible, not cutting down trees that can be left and planting different crops (if you have crops) than your neighbor.

    I try to support local farmers as much as I can, as it's the large scale EVERYTHING that is ruining our earth ;)
    GREAT POST!

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  22. Christy, you made my day with this post. Sitting at home on the farm and reading a blog post about cattle and the positive impacts that farming has on our land and our environment as a whole is the perfect way to end my day. We discussed this for several weeks in my Issue in Animal Agriculture class and I'm amazed at all the scientific studies that have been done to support the facts you presented. There's not a day that goes by that I'm not thankful for being raised on a farm and the life lessons gained from that experience.

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